Small World
by Writer4Evr
Summary: Evan Melbrook loses both his parents in a fire.  He and his sister move in with a distant aunt in California.  He thinks he's all alone there, that is, until he meets someone who knows what he's going through.  R&R!
1. Loss

Hi everyone! Ok, this is my first stab at a Summerland fanfiction so I hope you all enjoy it. Please send me a review telling me what you think. !!!!

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Evan Melbrook was, overall, a pretty average seventeen year old. He received relatively high grades on his report cards, was an average height for his age (5"10) and was fairly thin and always tried to stay in shape. He was a decent player at almost any sport he tried, but in truth, sports weren't where his interest lay. Since he was six, Evan had always had a talent for rhyming. That had developed into an ability to write songs. This ability to put words together that made his lyrics flow so well had soon been considered a gift. But it takes more than the ability to write lyrics to create a good song, you also need a decent voice to go along with it. Evan also had that. He also was able to play nearly every instrument anyone could throw at him. In fact, he had been able to read music since before he could even read words.

Evan's gift in music soon brought him his reputation as a singer in Manhattan. He was often asked to play at local charity concerts or parties. This made him rather well known around town, he almost always ran into someone who had been at one of his shows and was complementing him when he went out for a walk.

The odd thing about Evan was that he'd never play at a concert or anything to make money. True, he had earned a fair amount of cash playing at parties and such but he would never say that's what he planned to do for a living. He often described his musical talents as "a hobby not a job" and he'd stayed true to that. Then again, whenever someone asked Evan what he planned on doing when he was older he'd often stutter and change the subject.

He also had a sister. Her name was Ally and she was a year younger than he was. She had shoulder length blonde hair that always seemed to shine in the light. Evan was also blonde, though his hair was cut short. His eyes were very piercingly blue, it was easy to tell what color they were at a far distance.

It seemed as though Evan had everything going for him...until that night came. The night that changed his life.

_So don't tell me all those lies, and don't break away from all our ties, I just want to be with you...forever. I just want to be-e-e-e-e-e-e-e...with you forever..._

Evan finished his final song of the night with a deep sigh of exhaustion. The small but boisterous crowd that had gathered to watch him cheered loudly. He paused for a moment to take in the applause, then rose and, being terrible at any form of good-bye, made his traditional wave at the crowd and exited the stage. Backstage, many people were waiting to greet him and congratulate him on a good job. As he made his way through the crowded room, his eye caught a woman, formally dressed, standing near the exit. The had long brown hair and wore a white trench coat. Evan knew her all too well; her name was Monica Fringe, she was a social worker.

It seemed as though every time Evan saw her it meant bad news. He first met her when Ally moved in. In truth, Ally wasn't actually Evan's sister, she was his cousin. His aunt and uncle on his father's side had died in a car accident and she'd been brought to live with them. Ally and Evan had always been close, so they considered each other brother and sister. At first, however, Evan had not taken well to Ally moving in and because of that his parents arranged him to meet with Doctor Fringe for the first time.

The second time he saw Doctor Monica Fringe was when his grandparents died. His father took the loss very hard and began taking his depression out on Evan and Ally. Doctor Fringe had stepped in and taken the two to live with a temporary foster family until their father could get himself under control. Monica Fringe seemed to love the idea of temporary foster families, it was always one of her first suggestions to most problems. Evan remembered how terrible it had been being away from his mom and dad. It wasn't that the foster family he'd been put with wasn't nice, he just hated being away from his parents. In addition, his music career had been put on hold as his parents funded most of his lessons and practices.

And now, once again, Doctor Monica Fringe stood waiting for him, looking as grim as ever. Evan continued on through the crowd, pretending not to notice her and praying she was there to collect someone else. His father was going to pick him up around back...if he could just get that far without her seeing he may be able to lose her. He quickly made his way to the exit, and almost made it when suddenly-

"Evan? There you are!" A female voice came from behind him.

He saw a familiar, well manicured hand clamp down on his shoulder. He wondered, looking at the social worker's scarlet fingernails, how much of his pain and sadness had gone into paying for those.

"Oh, Doctor Fringe, I didn't see you." Evan said innocently, turning around to face his social worker.

She ignored his comment and took him outside.

"You need to come with me." She said, beginning to walk towards her expensive BMW.

"Uh, no I don't, my dad's coming to pick me up in a few minutes." Evan replied, looking up the darkened street hoping to see his father driving towards him.

"No, Evan, he isn't. Come with me and I'll explain." Doctor Fringe pressed, stopping.

Evan went up to her. He thought for a moment.

"Let me guess...mom had a meeting and dad couldn't be bothered to show up tonight so you decided to make a little extra pocket money and come pick me up, is that it?" Evan asked angrily.

Doctor Fringe sighed. "No, that's not it. _Please_ come with me, Evan, and I'll explain everything."

Evan scowled. He hated how she always said his name while she was talking to him.

"I'm not going anywhere with you until you tell me what's going on. Why aren't my parents here to pick me up?" Evan demanded, rooting himself to the spot.

"Ev- listen, there's a lot I need to tell you. _Please_ come with me and I promise I'll tell you everything." Doctor Fringe said, noting his annoyance with her using his name and refraining from doing so.

Evan thought for a moment. Obviously he wasn't getting a ride, so he might as well go with her. He couldn't carry his guitar all the way home anyway.

"Fine." He sighed, annoyed.

Satisfied with her work, Doctor Fringe led Evan to her car and helped him in. She stopped him when he went to put his guitar in the trunk.

"Let me get that for you." She said, taking it carefully.

Amazing...was Monica Fringe actually showing courtesy to another person? Evan was shocked. After she loaded his guitar into the trunk she got into to drivers seat and drove off.

"What's going on?" Evan persisted.

Doctor Fringe ignored him. This annoyed Evan because he hated it when he knew something was going on and no one would tell him what it was. As they drove, Evan saw the turn down his street and expected her to go that way. Instead, Doctor Fringe sped up as they passed the street. Evan looked at her perplexedly.

"Where are we going? My house was that way." Evan said, eying the social worker.

"We aren't going to your house." The doctor replied sounding slightly agitated.

Not long later, they arrived at a large, grey building with the words "Manhattan Social Services" written in blue above the entrance. Monica Fringe got out of the car and led Evan up to the building, flipping through her keys trying to find the one to open the door to the building.

"Why are we here, when are you gonna tell me what's happening?" Evan demanded, now growing angry.

Again, the social worker ignored him and unlocked the door, leading him into the dark office building. They went up a short staircase and entered the all-too-familiar office of Doctor Monica Fringe. Evan hated that damned office. It was already lit up and a seat was already prepared for him. He gazed loathsomely her desk, covered with pens, papers, and of course that box of Kleenex that she constantly pushed towards him when they met, as though the sight of it would make him have need for one.

"Please, sit down." She said, gesturing to the empty seat as she took hers on the opposite side of the desk.

Evan slumped himself down in the chair and looked at her impatiently. She leaned forward, resting her arms on her desk and gazing intently at him.

"Are you going to tell me what's happening now?" Evan asked her, his tone threatening to grow louder.

Doctor Fringe hesitated. "Evan...as your social worker it's my job to deliver you bad news when it happens to present itself. And I'm afraid that tonight, the news I have for you is about as bad as it gets." She said slowly.

Evan perked up, now listening to her intently. "W-what is it?" He asked worriedly.

Doctor Fringe gave a deep sigh. "There was an accident. At your house. From what I've been told, it was a gas leak. Your parents must have gone to light a candle or something and the entire house went up in flames...I'm sorry Evan...they didn't make it out in time...they were killed in the blaze." She said solemnly.

Evan's mouth fell slightly ajar. His brain seemed to stop functioning, he couldn't think...he wasn't able to process what he'd just heard. Didn't make it out? What did that mean? Was this some kind of stupid test of hers to see how he would react?

"Wha...how...bu...they..." Evan stuttered.

"Evan," Doctor Fringe said, prodding the Kleenex towards him. ", I know you and I have never quite gotten along, but please don't hold it back just because of me. I can imagine what you're feeling right now."

Evan didn't understand. English seemed to be some foreign language to him now...his heart was pounding uncontrollably. He felt sweat trickle down his forehead. Suddenly it began to come together for him.

"Ally...?" The only word he was able to force out.

"Your cousin Allison was fortunate, she was sleeping over at a friend's house when the accident occurred. We've already taken care of her, she's been taken to a temporary foster family." Doctor Fringe explained gently. "I can take you to there whenever you feel ready, you can be with her."

Evan still didn't quite understand what was going on. Killed? As in dead? His parents were dead? No! It couldn't be true...he'd seen them only hours ago before leaving. He'd forgotten to kiss his mother good-bye before going...he'd said he would be late...she told him just to go, he couldn't be late for his concert. But wait, the concert! They couldn't have been at home, they were supposed to be at his concert.

Evan shook his head. "No..." He whispered.

"I'm sorry, Evan, it's the truth. If I wasn't telling you the truth would you be sitting here?" Doctor Fringe asked him as though she'd read his mind.

Then it hit him. She was right. He remembered now, his parents were going to come late and skip all the performers before him so they could have dinner. His mother had a thing about candles at dinner...she lit a new pair every night. That must have been what started the fire. Suddenly, Evan found himself holding back tears. He leaned forward and put his hand over his mouth. He bit his bottom lip.

"I'll let you be alone for a few minutes. I'm just outside the door if you need anything." Doctor Fringe said, getting up and exiting the room.

As soon as she was gone, Evan felt tears trickle down his face. They were gone. His parents were gone and he was never going to see them again. Never...

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Don't forget to review please, guys! Oh, and just to clarify: the first three chapters are all taking place at the same time, things don't really get rolling until chapter 4. Hope you're enjoying it ! 


	2. Bad News

This chapter is a bit shorter than the last one. I promise we'll start seeing some actual Summerland characters in the next chapter!! And big thanks to my reviewers who's names are both so long I can't remember them to thank them specifically. Hope you enjoy this chapter, it takes place at the same time as the last one.

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Karen Elliot could probably say she had never been happier with her life. She lived in a beachfront home in California. He house was enormous, it had two floors (though the attic was large enough to be considered a floor too) and a basement. She had a living room with huge windows that looked out onto the ocean. And in her bedroom she also had an ocean view. She was relatively successful as an interior designer, which had brought her most of her money. Not only was she rich, she was also very attractive. Karen had shoulder length light brown, almost blonde, hair, green eyes and a priceless smile. Her skin was quite tanned, she'd often lie on the patio in a bikini during her spare time. She had many friends in the small town of Playa Linda, and had lived there so long she knew who almost everyone in town was. One of her closest friends was Ava Gregory, someone she'd just become friends with recently, who lived a few houses down from her. They'd met at a designers convention, Karen had gotten lost and wandered into the fashion designers area and that's when they'd met. Ava lived with her friends Susannah, Jay and Johnny who Karen also got along quite well with. And then, about a year ago now, three more people came to join Ava's family; her niece and two nephews. Apparently their parents had died in a flood and they were now in her care. After they came, Ava became quite busy and she and Karen saw little of each other anymore. Karen couldn't imagine what it must be like, raising three children who have just lost their parents. At least, she couldn't imagine it until that terrible night came...

She'd been in town with her close friend Jennifer, a tall dark skinned woman with a Chinese background, having a late night cup of coffee at a small café.

"Honestly, Karen, _when_ are you going to open your eyes?" Jennifer asked, sipping her coffee.

"What do you mean?" Karen asked, though she was pretty sure she knew what was coming next.

"You know what I mean! You need to find a man! You need to get married, settle down, make a family!" Jennifer exclaimed.

Karen rolled her eyes. "I think you're rushing it just a bit. Really, Jen, I'm not sure I _want_ to start a family yet...did you hear that Ava's oldest one snuck out with a girl and got drunk the other night? I could never have a child if I knew they would go out and do that one day." Karen said.

"You're using a bad example. And so what if you don't want a family, you still need to find a man!!" Jennifer persisted.

Karen opened her mouth to reply when the owner of the café came over.

"We're closing, ladies." He said tiredly.

Karen and Jennifer gathered their coats and purses and left.

"I'm not ready to have this conversation yet, Jennifer, I'm only thirty-two." Karen said, yawning.

"That's twelve years too late if you ask me." Jennifer replied darkly.

"Well it doesn't matter. I should be getting home, I've got a busy day tomorrow. I'll call you." Karen said, waving as she headed off for her car.

She glanced at the clock as she started her engine, it was nearly midnight. As she exited the parking lot it began to rain and soon it was pouring. After a while it occurred to her that she'd left her cell phone on silent the whole time she was out with Jennifer. She pulled it out and flipped it open. "One missed call" the screen read. Then a little mail sign appeared and another message popped up. "One new message" it said. She dialed her voicemail and put the mobile phone to her ear. A woman's voice spoke.

"Miss Elliot, this is Monica Fringe from Manhattan Social Services, I tried to call you at home but you weren't answering. I'm afraid I have some bad news for you, your sister and her husband were killed in a fire a few hours ago. According to their wills, you are the one they've chosen to be the legal guardian of their two children; Evan and Allison. You and I have a lot to discuss, I'd appreciate a call at your earliest convenience, though given the circumstances please take your time, I assure you that Evan and Allison are being well taken care of. I'm terribly sorry for your loss, good night." The message ended.

The cell phone slowly slipped out of Karen's hand. She was shocked...she couldn't believe it. Without thinking she veered her car off the road and into the woods. She stopped the car and got out, leaving the engine running. Tears streamed down her face as she leaned up against her wet Cadillac Escalade. The rain was still pouring. Suddenly, Karen felt her knees give out and she fell to the ground.

Her sister was dead. Her brother-in-law was dead too. And now their two kids were coming to live with her. What _was_ she going to do?

The rain slowly stopped as she got back to her feet and sat down in the driver's seat. She'd manage. She had to. With a deep sigh, so turned the car on and found the road, then drove off towards her home.


End file.
